HIGHLIGHTS-China's central bank, regulator comments on the economy

Reuters Staff

3 Min Read

BEIJING, March 11 (Reuters) - Following are comments from a
media conference by Zhou Xiaochuan, the governor of the People's
Bank of China, Deputy Governor Yi Gang, the head of China
Banking Regulatory Commission as well as the heads of China
Insurance Regulatory Commission and the China Securities
Regulatory Commission.
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PBOC GOVERNOR ZHOU XIAOCHUAN
"Deposit rate liberalisation is on our agenda. Personally, I
think it's very likely to be realised within one to two years.
"There are market forces pushing forward interest-rate
liberalisation, and various types of emerging businesses have
promoted interest-rate liberalisation.
"When the market looks for high-return opportunities,
interest rates might go up within a certain range. But in the
end, interest rates will be decided by a balance in supply and
demand.
"Generally speaking, to realise the internationalisation of
the renminbi, or to push forward renminbi usage in trade and
investment settlements, is a relatively long process.
"As for broadening the usage of the renminbi, we are not
setting the speed, pace or timing in advance.
"From the central bank's point of view, we do not need to
take sides (on the yuan), such as supporting one side or not
supporting one side.
"The People's Bank of China will focus more on medium-term
trends.
"We respect the laws of the market and market choices. We do
not need to unveil too many opinions too early."
PBOC DEPUTY GOVERNOR YI GANG
"We still need to enhance oversight, because all kinds of
uncertainties and liquidity risks from cross-border capital
flows follow the relatively pronounced changes in the global
financial market."
CBRC CHIEF SHANG FULIN
"China's banks have been growing with high speed in recent
years, which indeed brings some risks. But the risks are
generally under control.
"Our provisions and capital for bad assets are sufficient."
CSRC CHIEF XIAO GANG
"China's capital market is not fully market-oriented, that's
why our future reforms will move in the directions of
marketisation, legalisation and internationalisation.
"Of course, reform needs a process. During the process, we
certainly need to find a balance between the strength of reform
and market's ability to bear it."